Bailout Bill

Wow...there was enough political chicanery going on this week to leave any political junkie totally satiated.

I have very mixed feelings about this bailout package. Let's start with the wording. This was a total media failure by the President. By sitting on the sidelines for way way way too long, he let the media define this as a bailout. If you want something passed, you have to prime the media. He started calling it a rescue, but it was too late.

I admire the House Republicans for defeating the plan. They stood up to both their President and their candidate. And honestly, maybe they did the right thing. Sure, the market tanked the next day. Nonetheless, they held to their principles and wouldn't be pressured. What I found totally laughable, though, was that they blamed Nancy Pelosi's speech for the defeat of the bill. Yeah, c'mon guys. You voted against a bill that would "save" the economy because Nancy Pelosi hurt your feelings? I don't think so. Even sillier was when the Democrats held a press conference congratulating their efforts on the failed bill. Uh, it failed! No congratulations! The Daily Show had an excellent presentation on this.

I also enjoyed this clever article on RCP on the political implications on this.